Chapter 14: The
Importance of Character
The Importance of Character
• Inspired by Aristotle (384-322 BC)
– Does not seek to uncover fundamental principle
telling us what to do and how to act in ethical way
– Concerned about sort of people we must become if
we are to live an ethical life
• Darwall (1998)
– Many philosophers realized Aristotle presents more
subtle, rich, and realistic picture of ethical life
• Proponents believe ethical knowledge involves degree of
wisdom or judgement that cannot be expressed in form
of absolute rule
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
The Importance of Character
• Ethics should be concerned with what kind of a
person people should be or what character traits
should a person acquire
• Virtue ethics primarily concerned with persons and
character rather than duties or with consequences of
actions (Holmes, 1998)
• Virtues are personal qualities or traits of character,
shown through habitual action, that make us persons
of excellent character
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Virtues
• Personal qualities or traits of character shown through
habitual action that makes us persons of excellent
character
– Can include natural qualities
• Repetition of virtuous actions causes person to develop
virtuous character
– Once character is formed, becomes source of person’s
virtuous actions
• According to virtue ethics, lying is wrong because violates
someone’s right to truth or right to be treated with
respect
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Virtues
• Which character traits should be cultivated as virtues?
• Plato and Socrates identified four or five primary virtues:
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Wisdom
Courage
Temperance
Justice
Piety
• Aristotle proposed larger list (Rachels, 1999)
• Each have own special features
– Some raise distinctive issues
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Aristotle’s List of Virtues
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Benevolence
Civility
Compassion
Conscientiousness
Cooperativeness
Courage
Courteousness
Dependability
Fairness
Generosity
Honesty
Industriousness
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Justice
Loyalty
Moderation
Reasonableness
Self-confidence
Self-control
Self-discipline
Self-reliance
Tactfulness
Thoughtfulness
Tolerance
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Virtues
• Imperative is to be good person
– Person who is morally good
• Important to appreciate person can
possess good qualities but still not be good
person overall
• Critical point is virtues are necessary for
conducting our lives well (Rachels, 1999)
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Aristotle and Happiness
• Aristotle adopted empirical approach to ethical problems
• Defines happiness as “an activity of the soul in accord with
perfect virtue”
• Several interpretations of definition have been offered
• One common interpretation is that Aristotle is emphasizing
happiness is an activity and is not static
– Becomes way of doing things
• Argues that “flourishing” arises out of virtuous activity
• Flourishing life becomes one of excellent, distinctively human
activity
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
The Golden Mean
• Aristotle proposed people should behave in way that will
achieve happiness
• From this notion developed idea of the golden mean
(Holmes, 1998)
• Suggests that one should look at all relevant facts of
situation in order to find middle ground or ‘mean’
• Aristotle’s ethics is therefore relativistic because right
thing to do in situation may not be same for different
people (Prior, 1991)
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Practical Wisdom
• Practical wisdom equates to prudence and
forethought as well as intelligence
– Notion is at very heart of Aristotle’s conception of moral
life (Hinman, 1998)
• Applying practical wisdom is a thinking process in
which we reflect on circumstances and apply wisdom
to a specific case
• As Aristotle explains it, practical wisdom is not
constituted by attribute of cleverness but does not
exist without cleverness
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Practical Wisdom
• How do we acquire practical wisdom?
– According to Aristotle it is gained through good
upbringing that includes associating with good
people who provide examples of good actions,
and through acting in good way
– Is important not to just observe or interact with
good people but to imitate them, and do same
kinds of things they do
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
What’s Wrong With Virtue
• Notion of golden mean has been criticized because
there will be situations where notion does not work
– For instance, what is the average between keeping
a promise and not keeping one?
• Is common criticism of Aristotle that his list of virtues
is arbitrary
• Is certainly constructed by reference to Aristotle’s
cultural boundaries and shaped by values prevailing
in ancient Athens
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
What’s Wrong with Virtue
• Central criticism of Aristotle’s approach is it fails to tell us how
to act (Hinman, 1998)
• Aristotle does not provide us with answers to moral questions
like death penalty
• From feminist perspective, Okin (1996) offers critique of
virtue ethics
• She argues that notion of virtue has been constructed as
quality regarded as admirable in free men with high social
standing
– Aristotle’s account of the virtues is written from the perspective of the
“free, educated, and leisured male members of society” (Okin, 1996,
p. 212)
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Case Study 14.1: Profiling in the Neighborhood
Rodney is a rookie police officer assigned to a mainly white middleclass neighborhood. On the evening shift, Rodney and his partner
Max, a more senior officer, are patrolling the neighborhood when
Max says, “Hey, look at that kid. He doesn’t belong here. Let’s
question him.” Rodney stops the patrol car, and he and Max get out
and approach the boy, asking him for his identification. The boy
produces his identification, and asks the two officers “Why have
you stopped me? Is it because I’m black?” They do not respond,
and Max just searches him and then arrests him. Later that night
Max tells Rodney that the boy “pissed him off” with his attitude. He
tells Rodney to write a report of the incident and charge the boy
with “loitering.”
Source: Adapted from Goodman 1998: 59.
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Criteria for Applying Virtue Theory
• The focus is on the character of the decision
maker
• As a person with moral character, I must assess
the knowledge I have or will need to reach my
full potential and become a virtuous person
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Criteria for Applying Virtue Theory
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There are four steps to applying a virtue approach to a
dilemma
1.
Regardless of the dilemma, I must first ask what kind of person
(police officer, prosecutor, correctional officer, judge, etc.) I
should become to be the best person I can be in that role
2. I must then ask which virtues will allow me to become the best
person (officer, prosecutor, correctional officer, judge, etc) I
can become. I will identify which virtues I must practice in this
situation and explain to myself why they are relevant to my
goals of becoming virtuous and developing good moral
character, including integrity, honesty, compassion, courage,
duty, and so on
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Criteria for Applying Virtue Theory
3. Once I have decided what kind of person I will need to
become to be a virtuous person and which virtues I will
need to practice to achieve that goal, I must ask myself
which option in the dilemma allows me to practice these
virtues and explain to myself how this option allows me to
practice these virtues and why the other options would
not
4. I will then practice these virtues until they become habit
and part of my character so that when ethical dilemmas
present themselves to me in future, I will know what to do
and will no longer face a dilemma of this kind
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Applying Virtue Theory
• Case Study 14.1 illustrates how virtue
theory can be applied to an ethical
dilemma within the criminal justice system.
• Is Rodney faced with an ethical dilemma?
• What are the facts and circumstances of
the incident?
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Applying Virtue Theory
• What are the facts relevant to the decision
he has to make? What are his own values
about the issue and what are the values of
his workplace about such an issue?
• What ethical theories does he call to mind
to assist him in resolving the dilemma?
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Applying Virtue Theory
• What are Rodney’s available courses of
action?
• Rodney will make his decision after
applying, in this case, the virtue approach
to each alternative course of action, and
he will choose the course of action that is
the most ethically appropriate for him
under virtue theory.
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.
Chapter Summary
• Whereas deontology focuses on duty and utilitarianism focuses on
consequences, virtue ethics concerned with virtue and moral
character
• Aristotle contends it is only by answering question “What kind of
person should I become?” that we can determine what is right
thing to do
• Virtues are personal qualities that develop through habitual action
and help us become persons of excellent character
• Aristotle believed that a good life was one of happiness
• Aristotle promoted idea of practical wisdom
• Virtue ethics has been criticized for being historically specific and
because it does not tell us how to act
Banks, Criminal Justice Ethics. © 2017, SAGE Publications.

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